Lead. Rebuild. Rise

James' father was in prison for most of his life and his mother went to prison when he was 10 years old.  James became a ward of the state and began running the streets and gang banging. At the age of 19, he was sentenced to 34 years to life for murder. James spent 29 years in prison. During his incarceration, James transformed his life.  He became a transformational coach teaching leadership seminars to other incarcerated men, as well as students and faculty from several colleges and high schools.

James also contributed to a book, Men Built for Others: Life Lessons from Those Serving Life Sentences, in which 100% of the proceeds go

towards a scholarship to help a young person attend a private school in Salinas, CA. 

James was released from prison in July of 2020 and currently works as a Program Manager over crisis response for Mutual Assistance Network as part of the Black Child Legacy Campaign. 

James continues to go back inside several prisons teaching leadership classes contracting on various projects with

Hartnell college and others. He also continues to support the Phoenix Alliance group as the Phoenix Rising Executive Director, on a volunteer basis at CTF-Soledad on Central and North yards.

Devon was born in Southern California and raised in Idaho. She received her Bachelor’s of Social Work at Lewis-Clark State College and her Master’s of Social Work at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.  Devon has been working in the field of mental health for 28 years.  Throughout her Bachelor’s program, she worked in the social work field and during her Master’s Program, specializing in deviant behavior in children and adolescents and also began working at her first prison in the SOAR program (Sex Offender Accountability & Responsibility). After receiving her Master’s degree, she enlisted in the United States Army to work in Military Intelligence. Devon began working at Salinas Valley Psychiatric Program at Salinas Valley State Prison after her honorable discharge from the Army.  Devon is currently the Rehab Services Supervisor at Boomerang Healthcare. Prior to this job, she has experience as the the Mental Health Director for Wellpath at the Santa Cruz County Jail, the Clinical Program Director at Evolve Treatment Centers in Gilroy and was the lead clinician for Wellpath at the Monterey County jail.  Devon also worked at Community Human Services, a nonprofit, as the Senior Program Officer over Youth and Family Services. Devon has also worked with CHS as their LPHA (Licensed Practitioner of the Healing Arts) in their substance abuse treatment programs.  For eight years, Devon worked at Monterey County Behavioral Health, coordinating programs to adhere to corrections realignment.  She supervised the Monterey County Crisis Team and Psychiatric Unit at Natividad Medical Center for the Behavioral Health Bureau. There, Devon oversaw 5150 assessments and placements for youth and adults. She coordinated the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) for law enforcement and first responders in Monterey County, teaching them how to intervene with persons who have mental health issues and others in crisis. In 2008 she started and coordinated the Behavioral Health Crisis Negotiation Team, which responds to law enforcement “call-outs” of crisis situations, such as those involving suicidal individuals. That year she also founded the Monterey County Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team, which assists individuals and agencies who have experienced a critical incident.  In 2014, after receiving a grant from the State of California, Devon began working on developing a mobile crisis team.  

Devon is also a professor and instructor.  Devon currently teaches at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) as an adjunct faculty member, in addition to Hartnell in the Rising Scholars program in the prisons.  In the past, Devon has presented at the California Association of Hostage Negotiators (CAHN); the San Jose State Department of Justice Studies; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) International, and at the California Fire and EMS Conference on various topics.  Devon received the Red Cross Medical Professional Hero Award in 2012, the Community Service Award from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) in 2013, and International recognition from Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) in 2014 and a Community Service Award from the Veteran's Hub at CTF-Soledad in 2025.

Devon's hobbies include coaching and refereeing volleyball, cooking and baking, and spending time at her kids’ activities. She is passionate about prevention and rehabilitation and enjoys supporting clients as they grow and change.